Difference between revisions of "Franklin D. Roosevelt"

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Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States of America from 1933-45. He presided over the majority of the Great Depression, which did not end until the attack on Pearl Harbor, and led the United States in World War II against the Axis Powers; he built the New Deal Coalition of voters and interest groups which dominated American politics into the 1960s, and is still fondly remembered by liberals. His New Deal was a very large, complex interlocking set of programs designed to produce relief (which promised, but did not deliver, jobs for the unemployed), recovery (of the GDP), and reform (by which he meant regulation of Wall Street and the economy), as well as reelection (in 1936, 1940 and 1944) and realignment of the political system. Conservatives strongly opposed many, but not all, of the New Deal programs. Conservatives abolished most of the relief programs when unemployment practically ended during World War II. Most of the regulations on business were ended about 1975-85, except for the regulation of Wall Street by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which still exists. The major surviving program is Social Security, which Congress passed in 1935.

Conservatives at the time denounced his bids for presidential power, including building a national political machine through the WPA (it lasted from 1935 to 1943), attempting to take control of the Supreme Court by adding new liberal judges (an attempt which failed, 1937), and trying to purge the Democratic party of conservative congressman (an attempt which failed in 1938). The failures of those attempts can be attributed to the Conservative Coalition.

After 1938 FDR turned his attention to World War II. he was a strong advocate of support for the Chinese Kuomintang against Japan; most conservatives agreed. He also was a strong supporter of military aid to Britain. Conservatives split on that, with the "isolationists" opposed, and others like [Henry Stimson]] in favor. Once Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into the war, conservatives strongly supported the war effort and generally approved his leadership, although highly critical of his close cooperation with Stalin and the Soviet Union.

He was the first and only President to be elected four times, breaking the traditional two-term-limit precedent established by George Washington.^[1]

Roosevelt's health failed rapidly in 1944-45, even as he ran for reelection. He died On April 12, 1945. Despite polio which crippled him starting in the early 1920s, he exuded a sense of confidence and hope for the future that some would describe as a charismatic personality.

Conservative scholars have argued that some relief efforts actually helped to prolong the Great Depression. However, government spending and prosperity combined after World War II, the most costly war in American history.^[2] The amount spent on the New Deal was less than the $21 billion borrowed by the government over two years during World War I.^[3]

Eleanor Roosevelt

see Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt, a fifth cousin, became engaged to FDR in 1903; they were married on March 17, 1905 in New York; her uncle President Theodore Roosevelt gave the bride away.

Six children followed in rapid succession, with all but one surviving infancy: Anna Eleanor, James, Franklin (died 1909), Elliott, a second Franklin Delano, and John Aspinwall.

FDR was elected as a Democrat to the New York State Senate in 1910, but the family remained in New York City. In 1913 the family moved to Washington where Franklin was the powerful and popular Assistant Secretary of the Navy during World War I.

Very shy at first, Eleanor kept a low profile during World War I. She became more accustomed to the limelight when Franklin was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1920, and when he was elected governor of New York in 1928 and 1930. After he contracted polio she became much more active, serving as his spokesperson at many meetings around the state and advocated for womens issues inside the Democratic party.

The Roosevelt marriage collapsed in 1918 when Eleanor discovered Franklin had a lover.^[4] Divorce was politically impossible, love was absent. The solution was independence. Since the public knew nothing about the affairs (and historians did not learn until after Eleanor's death), the couple kept up appearances. Eleanor increasingly built her own career, all the while supporting the more liberal, leftist, and other controversial personalities and ideas that were in the air.

1920s

In 1920 Roosevelt was the Democratic nominee for Vice President. He lost in the Harding landslide, but the fact that he won the nomination demonstrates that Democrats looked upon him as their new hero. In 1921 FDR became ill with poliomyelitis, Eleanor became his helpmate through his serious health problems. The polio left FDR without the use of his legs, confined to a wheelchair for the most part. However, he did not allow this disability to end his political career; indeed it made him psychologically stronger and more determined to bring hope to people faced with poor odds in life.

In 1928 Franklin Roosevelt was elected governor of New York, in the face of a victory in the state by Republican presidential candidate Herbert Hoover. FDR was reelected in his own landslide in 1930. As governor of the leading financial state he did nothing to prevent the Wall Street Crash of 1929 or solve the emerging depression, but he did begin a relief program that followed the Hoover Administration guidelines.

Election of 1932

With the economy continuing a downward spiral despite Hoover's efforts, a Democratic victory seemed certain. Roosevelt needed two-thirds of the delegates too get the nomination. He easily beat out Al Smith, his former close ally. FDR won the nomination with the aid of powerful publisher William Randolph Hearst (still a liberal at the time), and the Texas delegation led by House Speaker John Nance Garner. Garner was given the vice presidency. Smith in 1932, Hearst in 1934, and Garner in 1937 all broke with FDR, becoming bitter enemies.

The election was a rout, with Democrats winning sweeping majorities in Congress and control of state governments in all parts of the country. Hoover tried to coordinate national policy with FDR during the long interregnum between the November election and the March 4 inauguration, but Roosevelt refused to cooperate as the desperate economic situation of the hungry and unemployed deteriorated further.

First Term

1998 US stamp celebrates alphabet agencies of New Deal

New Deal

For Main Article see New Deal.

FDR is most famous for his New Deal, a set of programs allegedly designed to produce recovery from the Depression, reform so it would never happen again, and relief for the tens of millions suffering severe hardships.

FDR's favorite program--and the nation's favorite as well, was the Civilian Conservation Corps, begun in springc 1933. The CCC sent several hundred thousand young men at a time--2.5 million in all by 1943 --to newly formed work camps for 6-month stints. There were no uniforms or military drills. Of all the New Deal innovations, perhaps the most generally applauded was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It was strongly approved at the time by conservatives and liberals alike, including most religious and business leaders as a way to save the boys who were perpectually unemployed and drifting into gangs. The CCC was ended in 1943 when the need had vanished.

In 1934-35 the Second new Deal showed Roosevelt moving left. Key innovations included the Wagner Act (1935) that created the National Labor Relations Board and allowed Labor unions to rapidly expand. The WPA was a federalized releif progarm, in which 2+ million unemployed workers were hired by the federal government to work on projects sponsored by local government. Most important of all was the Social Security program, passed over intense Republican opposition.

Second Term

Roosevelt successfully built up the "New Deal Coalition", a powerful coalition of voters and interest groups that supported liberalism. Key components included big city machines and labor unions. Key voter groups included traditional Democrats, white Southerners, Catholics, Jews, and liberals, as well as many blacks. This united voter base allowed Democrats to be elected to Congress and the presidency for much of the next 30 years.

After a sweeping landslide reelection in 1936--losing only Maine and Vermont--Roosevelt stunned the nation, and his party, by calling for legislation to enlarge the Supreme Court by five new members. A firestorm of opposition erupted, led by his own vice president John Nance Garner. Roosevelt was defeated by an alliance of Republicans and conservative Democrats, who formed a Conservative Coalition that managed to block nearly all liberal legislation. (Only a minimum wage law got through.) Angry with the conservative wing of his own party, Roosevelt tried to destroy it. In 1938, he actively campaigned against five incumbent conservative Democratic senators; all five senators won re-election.

Under FDR, the Democratic Party became identified closely with modern liberalism, which included the promotion of social welfare, unions and regulation of the economy. Civil rights were not on the party agenda at this time.

The Second Term was a failure, for FDR had overreached and his efforts to fight the conservatives in the business community, the GOP and his own party (in the South) produced a backlash against excessive presidential control. With war braking out in Europe in 1939, it was time to turn to foreign affairs.

Third Term

Early in 1939 FDR made up his mind to seek a third election in the presidential election of 1940. FDR realized the political difficulties involved in a third nomination so he wanted to make it appear as a "draft Roosevelt" movement. He kept other candidates dangling in hope, including Democratic National Committee Chairman James Farley, whom FDR rejected because he was Roman Catholic, and Secretary of State Cordell Hull.

Administrative Assistants to Roosevelt included James Forrestal, Lauchlin Currie and David K. Niles. Their function was to get information and to condense and summarize it for Roosevelt's use. FDR soon moved Forrestal to the Navy department, where he took over the responsibilities of the incompetent secretary.

Public opinion on entering the war became polarized in very complicated ways. Conservatives divided into pro-war ("interventionist") and anti-war ("isolationist") blocs, as did liberals. Republicans split and Democrats split. FDR was the leader of the interventionist liberal Democrats, but he was opposed by old allies like John L. Lewis and Joe Kennedy, and supported by old foes like Henry Stimson.

In general the dispute was entirely focused on Europe. Virtually every group was hostile to Japan and supported a strong pro-China policy, which FDR pushed vigorously. Tokyo was threatened: end its invasion of China or the U.S. would--and did--cut off Japan's oil supplies. Japan responsed with a decision for war. Once Pearl Harbor was attacked (Dec. 7, 1941), all the prior divisions vanished overnight, and all groups supported the war effort. Later stories to the effect that FDR knew about the Pearl Harbor attack in advance were all false fabrications.

see American Homefront, World War II

Commander in Chief

Roosevelt in 1941 formed an alliance of convenience with Stalin to defeat Hitler.

In August 1939 Stalin made an alliance with Hitler that allowed Hitler to invade Poland; the two divided Poland and eastern Europe between them, as Germany turned toward France and Britain. With Roosevelt strongly supporting France and Britain, the American Communist Party began attacking Roosevelt in the wildest terms and did so for the next twenty-two months. In the 1940 election, pro-Moscow elements in the CIO forced John L. Lewis to turn against Roosevelt and support the liberal Republican Wendell Willkie. Roosevelt meanwhile moved right, and brought into top jobs the GOP vice presidential nominee from 1936, Frank Knox (a conservative who became Secretary of the Navy) and conservative Republican lawyer Henry Stimson, who took over the War Department. Rejecting advice from the far left, 90% of CIO members voted for Roosevelt, who was easily elected to a third term.

Wheeler leaks top secret US war plan three days before Pearl Harbor

In early December 1941 a military officer gave Senator Wheeler a copy of the top secret American war plan for fighting Germany. Wheeler gave it to the Chicago Tribune, which published the secrets in a desperate effort to weaken the American military so much that Roosevelt would avoid war. Pearl Harbor came a few days later and Wheeler and the isolationists went quiet.

The policy makers in Washington--including those at the newly constructed Pentagon--wanted to focus on defeating the main enemy, Germany. Public opinion (and the Navy) insisted on defeating Japan first. Given the military situation, there was little in 1942-43 the U.S. could do to defeat Germany except send military supplies to Britain and Russia, which was done. The war in 1942-43 of necessity focused on Japan, and it was a very hard-fought war fought primarily with naval aviation. The great American victory at the Battle of Midway ended the Japanese blitzkrieg and evened out the forces. Japan was unprepared for a long war, and already by early 1942 the U.S. had far more warships and warplanes under construction than Japan did. Before the material edge became decisive, American forces defeated the Japanese at the Battle of Guadalcanal. By 1943 the "island hopping" campaign under Admiral Chester Nimitz in the central Pacific, and under General Douglas MacArthur in the Southwest Pacific was inexorably pushing American forces toward the Japanese home islands, with the goal of invading them and capturing Tokyo.

American and British troops invaded North Africa in 1942, and Sicily and Italy in 1943. In retrospective these were not major strategic goals, but they did provide the Army with the combat experience needed to prepare for the real invasion of France in June 1944. By then the German Luftwaffe had been destroyed by the U.S. Air Force, and the vast advantage in war material made the German military position hopeless. With the huge Russian armies pressing in from the east, and the smaller but more powerful Allied armies coming in from the west, the Nazi war machine was crushed in 1944-45.

FDR worked very closely with his military advisors, and followed their strategic advice. His main role was fostering diplomatic relations with Britain, Russia and China, helping themn with Lend Lease supplies of food and munitions.

Roosevelt had his closest contest in 1944, with a subdued contest that was decided by turnout of FDR allies in the cities and labor unions, and increasingy among soldiers.

Fourth Term

See also Yalta conference

At the Yalta conference in February 1945, victory was in sight in Europe. A reparations commission was set up to help repay Russia from German assets. The key arrangements allowed Sovciet control of Eastern Europe. Roosevelt, in failing health, seemed to think that he and Stalin would personally iron out any difficulties after the war ended. FDR did get Stalin to promise to enter the war against Japan 90 days after Germany surrendered. Stalin did so.

In February 1944 Congress rejected Roosevelt's demand for a $10,500,000,000 tax increase and cut it to $2,300,000,000. Roosevelt vetoed it saying this was a "bill not for relief of the needy but of the greedy." Senator Alben Barkley, Democratic leader, rose on the floor of the Senate to say the veto was "a calculated and deliberate assault upon the legislative integrity of every member of Congress." The entire Senate united in a roar of applause. Barkley declared that after seven years of carrying the New Deal banner for Roosevelt, he would resign his post as Democratic majority leader and he called on every member of the Congress to preserve its self respect and override the veto. The Senate overrode it 72 to 14 and the House 299 to 95.

Reflections on Christianity

FDR said this about the Bible in an address on October 6, 1935:

"We cannot read the history of our rise and development as a nation, without reckoning with the place the Bible has occupied in shaping the advances of the Republic."

"Where we have been the truest and most consistent in obeying its precepts, we have attained the greatest measure of contentment and prosperity."^[5]

FDR became famous for delivering "fireside chats" over the new medium of radio, and on March 9, 1937 he declared:

"I hope that you have re-read the Constitution of the United States in these past few weeks. Like the Bible, it ought to be read again and again."

While running for his third time in a Brooklyn speech, Roosevelt said,

"I am certain that the rank and file of patriotic Republicans do not realize the nature of this threat. They should remember, and we must remember, what the collaborative understanding between Communism and Nazism has done to the processes of democracy abroad...

"Those forces hate democracy and Christianity as two phases of the same civilization. They oppose democracy because it is Christian. They oppose Christianity because it preaches democracy. Their objective is to prevent democracy from becoming strong. ^[6]

As World War II broke out in Europe, FDR warned:

"Those forces hate Democracy and Christianity as two phases of the same civilization."

The following year, on May 27, 1941, FDR stated in one of his radio addresses:

The Nazis are as ruthless as the Communists in the denial of God.

"In his second inaugural address, FDR pledged to do his utmost by 'seeking Divine guidance.' He took that mission further on January 25, 1941, when he wrote a personal prologue to a special edition of the New Testament, which was distributed to millions of U.S. soldiers. 'As Commander-in-Chief,' Roosevelt wrote, 'I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States.' He believed that all American soldiers should have the opportunity to read the words of Christ in preparing for battle. Once, when joining those soldiers aboard a warship with Winston Churchill, FDR asked the crew and prime minister to join him in singing the hymn 'Onward Christian Soldiers.' In his final inaugural address, FDR affirmed, "So we pray to Him for the vision to see our way clearly ... to achievement of His will.' "^[7]

When American soldiers were landing on the beaches of Normandy, Roosevelt led the nation in prayer during a radio broadcast. ^[8]

Legacy

Statue of the president at The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial in Washington D.C.

Roosevelt is an admired but still hotly debated president. Many credit Roosevelt with helping the United States survive the Great Depression and with providing solid leadership during World War II. Others, especially conservatives, assert that he uselessly expanded the welfare state, abused executive powers, and badly botched diplomacy before and during World War II.

Roosevelt's image appears on the dime.

See also

• Eleanor Roosevelt

Further reading

see also New Deal Bibliography for a much more detailed guide

• Alter, Jonathan. The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope (2006), popular excerpt and text search
• Beschloss, Michael R. The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1941-1945 (2002). excerpt and text search
• Black, Conrad. Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom (2003). popular excerpt and text search, by a conservative writer
• Brands, H.W. Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (2008)
• Burns, James MacGregor. vol 1: Roosevelt" The Lion and the Fox (1956); excerpt and text search vol 1; vol. 2: Roosevelt: Soldier of Freedom 1940-1945 (1970), excerpt and text search vol 2; major interpretive scholarly biography, emphasis on politics; vol 2 is on war years and is online at ACLS e-books
• Dallek, Robert. Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932-1945 (2nd ed. 1995) scholarly survey of foreign policy excerpt and text search
• Freidel, Frank. Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous with Destiny (1990), One-volume scholarly biography; covers entire life excerpt and text search 2006 reprint edition
• Goodwin, Doris Kearns. No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II (1995), joint biography by scholar excerpt and text search
• Graham, Otis L. and Meghan Robinson Wander, eds. Franklin D. Roosevelt: His Life and Times. (1985). encyclopedia by scholars
• Hamby, Alonzo L. For the Survival of Democracy: Franklin Roosevelt and the World Crisis of the 1930s (2004) major interpetation by leading conservative historian excerpt and text search
• Jenkins, Roy. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (2003) short popular bio from British perspective
• Kennedy, David M. Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945. (1999), wide-ranging survey of national affairs by scholar online edition
• Larrabee, Eric. Commander in Chief: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, His Lieutenants, and Their War. History of how FDR handled the war excerpt and text search
• Leuchtenberg, William E. Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1940. (1963). Remains the standard scholarly interpretive history of era. excerpt and text search
• Moley, Raymond. After Seven Years (1939), very important conservative memoir by ex-Brain Truster online edition
• Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr., The Age of Roosevelt, 3 vols, (1957-1960), the classic narrative history. Strongly supports FDR.
• Smith, Jean Edward. FDR (2007) 885pp; good recent biographyexcerpt and text search

notes

1. ↑ Tradition was restored by the 22ndAmendment in 1947.
2. ↑ Francis, David R. (2005-08-29). More Costly than "The War to End All Wars". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved on 2006-10-24.
3. ↑ David M. Kennedy, Freedom From Fear, page 178
4. ↑ Lucy Mercer (later Lucy Rutherfurd) was only the first of several known FDR lovers; Lucy was with FDR when he died. Joseph Persico, Franklin and Lucy: President Roosevelt, Mrs. Rutherfurd, and the Other Remarkable Women in His Life (2008)
5. ↑ Quoted in DeMar, The Untold Story, p. 60 and Gabrial Sivan, The Bible and Civilization (New York: Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Co., 1973), p. 178.
6. ↑ Roosevelt and Hopkins, Sherwood, 1948, pgs. 193-194 (pgs. 211 - 212 pdf).
7. ↑ God and George W. Bush (New York: Regan Books, 2004), p. 176
8. ↑ Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day Prayer, June 6, 1944.

References

External links

• FDR cartoon archive, an especially useful source for understanding public opinion
• Hyde Park NY Home of FDR
• Campobello Island Summer Home of FDR
• Warm Springs GA FDR Retreat
• FDR Memorial Washington DC
• The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
  • Audio Archive
  • Academic Data Related to the Roosevelt Administration

Speeches and quotations: audio and transcripts

• famous quotes
• The American Presidency Project at University of California at Santa Barbara
  • Public Papers of the Presidents: Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • State of the Union Addresses
    • 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944
  • State of the Union Written Messages
    • 1945
  • Inaugural Addresses
    • 1933, 1937, 1941, 1945
  • Fireside Chats
  • Presidential Elections
    • 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944
  • 32 Audio/Video Clips of FDR
• Roosevelt's Secret White House Recordings via University of Virginia
• FDR - Day of Infamy video clip (2 min.)
• Audio clips of speeches
• First Inaugural Address, via Yale University
• Second Inaugural Address, via Yale University
• Third Inaugural Address, via Yale University
• Fourth Inaugural Address, via Yale University
• Court "Packing" Speech March 9, 1937
• University of Virginia graduating class speech ("Stab in the Back" speech) June 10, 1940

Other

• Short essays by scholars
• An archive of political cartoons from the FDR years; highly revealing and out of copyright
• Warm Springs and FDR's Polio Treatment
• Franklin D. Roosevelt Links